::  Download the 10.5.2014 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes

::  Download the 10.5.2014 Bulletin

::  Download the 10.5.2014 Sermon Audio

image :: Tiger in a Tropical Storm, Henri Rousseau (French, 1891)

Preparation for Worship :: Like an Enemy

“Jesus dies on the Cross, but not of the Cross. The Cross was the means by which He died, but not the reason why He died. He died through being crucified, but not because He was crucified. He was nailed to the tree, but that wasn’t the cause of His dying. The cause of His dying is precisely because He is there as the substitutionary atonement for the sins of His people. He dies bearing my sins in His body to that tree, so that I might live; so that through His condemnation at Calvary, the Judge in heaven will say to the sword of justice as it hangs over my head for my sins, ‘Do not slay my son. Jesus has been crucified. He has been put to death’; and I am now pardoned through His dying, justified by His blood, saved from the wrath to come.” (Iain D. Campbell)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for October 5 include:

:: Father Long Before Creation  (Chinese Hymn, c.1951) CHART [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2817376614 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=165182312]
:: Be Thou My Vision  (8th Century Irish Hymn)  CHART  [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3401631397 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=3137703094]
::  None Other Lamb  (Rossetti, b.1830)  CHART [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=1038326589 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=798046000]
:: How Great Thou Art  (Boberg, 1885) CHART [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3199896197 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=424269682]

Call to Worship :: Daniel 6:26

He is the living God, enduring forever; His Kingdom shall never be destroyed, and His dominion shall be to the end.

Gospel Reading  :: Luke 13:31-35

At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to Him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Praying the Psalms :: Psalm 74:1b-2, 3-5, 6-7, 20-21; Psalm 74:22a refrain

O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture? Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt. [Arise, O God, defend Your cause.]

Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary! Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place; they set up their own signs for signs. They were like those who swing axes in a forest of trees. [Arise, O God, defend Your cause.]

And all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers. They set your sanctuary on fire; they profaned the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground. [Arise, O God, defend Your cause.]

Have regard for the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence. Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame; let the poor and needy praise your name. [Arise, O God, defend Your cause.]

Confession of Sin

Our gracious Father, You sent Your Son to die and rise to new life in order that death might be brought to an end and that we, too, might live a new life. Yet we often chosen death over life. In our thoughts, words, and deeds we have rebelled against You and Your intentions for us. We have broken our fellowship with You, whose love is better than life and whom to know is life itself. We have sinned against others, sometimes unintentionally and sometimes deliberately, and have diminished their lives. We have invited Your wrath, who were created to reflect Your glory. Father, forgive us our sin for Jesus’ sake. And grant that the same Spirit that raised Christ might convict and renew us,  that we might walk in Your ways, to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.

Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy upon us; upon us.

Words of Encouragement ::  Colossians 2:13-14

You were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh. God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

Sermon  :: Lamentations 2:1-22

¹ How the Lord in his anger
has set the daughter of Zion under a cloud!
He has cast down from heaven to earth
the splendor of Israel;
he has not remembered his footstool
in the day of his anger.

² The Lord has swallowed up without mercy
all the habitations of Jacob;
in his wrath he has broken down
the strongholds of the daughter of Judah;
he has brought down to the ground in dishonor
the kingdom and its rulers.

³ He has cut down in fierce anger
all the might of Israel;
he has withdrawn from them his right hand
in the face of the enemy;
he has burned like a flaming fire in Jacob,
consuming all around.

⁴ He has bent his bow like an enemy,
with his right hand set like a foe;
and he has killed all who were delightful in our eyes
in the tent of the daughter of Zion;
he has poured out his fury like fire.

⁵ The Lord has become like an enemy;
he has swallowed up Israel;
he has swallowed up all its palaces;
he has laid in ruins its strongholds,
and he has multiplied in the daughter of Judah
mourning and lamentation.

⁶ He has laid waste his booth like a garden,
laid in ruins his meeting place;
the Lord has made Zion forget
festival and Sabbath,
and in his fierce indignation has spurned king and priest.

⁷ The Lord has scorned his altar,
disowned his sanctuary;
he has delivered into the hand of the enemy
the walls of her palaces;
they raised a clamor in the house of the Lord
as on the day of festival.

⁸ The Lord determined to lay in ruins
the wall of the daughter of Zion;
he stretched out the measuring line;
he did not restrain his hand from destroying;
he caused rampart and wall to lament;
they languished together.

⁹ Her gates have sunk into the ground;
he has ruined and broken her bars;
her king and princes are among the nations;
the law is no more,
and her prophets find
no vision from the Lord.

¹⁰ The elders of the daughter of Zion
sit on the ground in silence;
they have thrown dust on their heads
and put on sackcloth;
the young women of Jerusalem
have bowed their heads to the ground.

¹¹ My eyes are spent with weeping;
my stomach churns;
my bile is poured out to the ground
because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
because infants and babies faint
in the streets of the city.

¹² They cry to their mothers,
“Where is bread and wine?”
as they faint like a wounded man
in the streets of the city,
as their life is poured out
on their mothers’ bosom.

¹³ What can I say for you, to what compare you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
For your ruin is vast as the sea;
who can heal you?

¹⁴ Your prophets have seen for you
false and deceptive visions;
they have not exposed your iniquity
to restore your fortunes,
but have seen for you oracles
that are false and misleading.

¹⁵ All who pass along the way
clap their hands at you;
they hiss and wag their heads
at the daughter of Jerusalem:
“Is this the city that was called
the perfection of beauty,
the joy of all the earth?”

¹⁶ All your enemies
rail against you;
they hiss, they gnash their teeth,
they cry: “We have swallowed her!
Ah, this is the day we longed for;
now we have it; we see it!”

¹⁷ The Lord has done what he purposed;
he has carried out his word,
which he commanded long ago;
he has thrown down without pity;
he has made the enemy rejoice over you
and exalted the might of your foes.

¹⁸ Their heart cried to the Lord.
O wall of the daughter of Zion,
let tears stream down like a torrent
day and night!
Give yourself no rest,
your eyes no respite!

¹⁹ “Arise, cry out in the night,
at the beginning of the night watches!
Pour out your heart like water
before the presence of the Lord!
Lift your hands to him
for the lives of your children,
who faint for hunger
at the head of every street.”

²⁰ Look, O Lord, and see!
With whom have you dealt thus?
Should women eat the fruit of their womb,
the children of their tender care?
Should priest and prophet be killed
in the sanctuary of the Lord?

²¹ In the dust of the streets
lie the young and the old;
my young women and my young men
have fallen by the sword;
you have killed them in the day of your anger,
slaughtering without pity.

²² You summoned as if to a festival day
my terrors on every side,
and on the day of the anger of the Lord
no one escaped or survived;
those whom I held and raised
my enemy destroyed.

::  Download the 9.28.2014 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes

::  Download the 9.28.2014 Bulletin

::  Download the 9.28.2014 Sermon Audio

image :: The Destruction of Jerusalem as Foreseen by the Prophet Jeremiah, Nikos Stavroulakis (1932)

Preparation for Worship ::

“But now comes the greatest wonder that the world has ever known. In the very place where we have fallen away from God, where we have become dead and unreceptive to God, in our guilt, God’s goodness searches us out, and is revealed to us again as the eternal promise of God, in Jesus Christ, which far surpasses all guilt and all life. Only the person who, in the darkness of guilt, of unfaithfulness, of enmity toward God, has felt himself or herself touched by the love which never ceases, which forgives everything, and which points beyond all misery to the world of God, only such a person really knows what God’s goodness means.”  (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

“See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god beside Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of My hand.”  (Deuteronomy 32:39)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sept 28 include:

::  Man of Sorrows! What A Name (Phillip Bliss, 1875) CHART [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2817376614 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=3730746270]

::  I Know That My Redeemer Lives (Samuel Medley, 1775) CHART [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2038205626 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=2727673292]

::  Rock of Ages (Augustus Toplady, 1776) CHART [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=265460577 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=4123719478]

::  Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder (John Newton, 1774) CHART [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3957404521 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=3505470677]

Call to Worship :: Revelation 15:3-4; 1:5-7

Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear You, O Lord, and bring glory to Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed. To Him Who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom of priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him.

Gospel Reading  ::  Luke 18:9-14

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Confession of Sin  :: Psalm 38; Psalm 86:7 refrain

In the day of my trouble I call upon You, for You answer me.

O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has come down on me.

There is no soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.
 For my iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

In the day of my trouble I call upon You, for You answer me.

My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness,
I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all the day I go about mourning.
For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
 I am feeble and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

O Lord, all my longing is before you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
and my nearest kin stand far off.

In the day of my trouble I call upon You, for You answer me.

Those who seek my life lay their snares;
those who seek my hurt speak of ruin
and meditate treachery all day long.

But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no rebukes.

But for you, O Lord, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,
who boast against me when my foot slips!”

In the day of my trouble I call upon You, for You answer me.

For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever before me.
I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin.
But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
Those who render me evil for good
accuse me because I follow after good.

Do not forsake me, O Lord!
O my God, be not far from me!
Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!

In the day of my trouble I call upon You, for You answer me.

Words of Encouragement :: Romans 5:8-10

God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.

Sermon  :: Lamentations 1:1-22

¹ How lonely sits the city
that was full of people!
How like a widow has she become,
she who was great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
has become a slave.

² She weeps bitterly in the night,
with tears on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
she has none to comfort her;
all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
they have become her enemies.

³ Judah has gone into exile because of affliction
and hard servitude;
she dwells now among the nations,
but finds no resting place;
her pursuers have all overtaken her
in the midst of her distress.

⁴ The roads to Zion mourn,
for none come to the festival;
all her gates are desolate;
her priests groan;
her virgins have been afflicted,
and she herself suffers bitterly.

⁵ Her foes have become the head;
her enemies prosper,
because the Lord has afflicted her
for the multitude of her transgressions;
her children have gone away,
captives before the foe.

⁶ From the daughter of Zion
all her majesty has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
that find no pasture;
they fled without strength
before the pursuer.

⁷ Jerusalem remembers
in the days of her affliction and wandering
all the precious things
that were hers from days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the foe,
and there was none to help her,
her foes gloated over her;
they mocked at her downfall.

⁸ Jerusalem sinned grievously;
therefore she became filthy;
all who honored her despise her,
for they have seen her nakedness;
she herself groans
and turns her face away.

⁹ Her uncleanness was in her skirts;
she took no thought of her future;
therefore her fall is terrible;
she has no comforter.
“O Lord, behold my affliction,
for the enemy has triumphed!”

¹⁰ The enemy has stretched out his hands
over all her precious things;
for she has seen the nations
enter her sanctuary,
those whom you forbade
to enter your congregation.

¹¹ All her people groan
as they search for bread;
they trade their treasures for food
to revive their strength.
“Look, O Lord, and see,
for I am despised.”

¹² “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Look and see
if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
which was brought upon me,
which the Lord inflicted
on the day of his fierce anger.

¹³ “From on high he sent fire;
into my bones he made it descend;
he spread a net for my feet;
he turned me back;
he has left me stunned,
faint all the day long.

¹⁴ “My transgressions were bound into a yoke;
by his hand they were fastened together;
they were set upon my neck;
he caused my strength to fail;
the Lord gave me into the hands
of those whom I cannot withstand.

¹⁵ “The Lord rejected
all my mighty men in my midst;
he summoned an assembly against me
to crush my young men;
the Lord has trodden as in a winepress
the virgin daughter of Judah.

¹⁶ “For these things I weep;
my eyes flow with tears;
for a comforter is far from me,
one to revive my spirit;
my children are desolate,
for the enemy has prevailed.”

¹⁷ Zion stretches out her hands,
but there is none to comfort her;
the Lord has commanded against Jacob
that his neighbors should be his foes;
Jerusalem has become
a filthy thing among them.

¹⁸ “The Lord is in the right,
for I have rebelled against his word;
but hear, all you peoples,
and see my suffering;
my young women and my young men
have gone into captivity.

¹⁹ “I called to my lovers,
but they deceived me;
my priests and elders
perished in the city,
while they sought food
to revive their strength.

²⁰ “Look, O Lord, for I am in distress;
my stomach churns;
my heart is wrung within me,
because I have been very rebellious.
In the street the sword bereaves;
in the house it is like death.

²¹ “They heard my groaning,
yet there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my trouble;
they are glad that you have done it.
You have brought the day you announced;
now let them be as I am.

²² “Let all their evildoing come before you,
and deal with them
as you have dealt with me
because of all my transgressions;
for my groans are many,
and my heart is faint.”

::  Download the 9.21.2014 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes

::  Download the 9.21.2014 Bulletin

::  Download the 9.21.2014 Parent Bulletin

::  Download the 9.21.2014 Sermon Audio

image :: Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt van Rijn (1630, Dutch)

Preparation for Worship :: Siege, Exile & Restoration

“O Lord, the house of my soul is ruinous, O repair it! It displeases Your sight. I confess it, I know. But who shall cleanse it, to whom shall I cry but to you? Cleanse me from my secret faults, O Lord, and spare Your servant from strange sins.” (Augustine)

“When Jesus is attacked for eating with sinners, and taking as His disciple a despised tax collector, one might ask: ‘What could He possibly gain by doing so?’  Only the salvation of sinners.”   (Gregory of Nazianzus)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sept 21 include:

::  Thy Mercy My God (John Stocker, 1776)  chart  [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=637168784 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=2834013035]
::  Come, All Ye Pining (Anne Steele, b.1717)   chart  [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2826557878 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=2538870965]
::  Rock of Ages, When the Day Seems Long (Sandra McCracken, 2005)  chart  [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3638870269 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=3793832028]
::  Jesus, I Come (William Sleeper, b.1840)  chart  [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3957404521 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=1190898373]
::  On Jordan’s Stormy Banks (Samuel Stennett, 1787)  chart  [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3572066182 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=1174694383]

Call to Worship ::  Psalm 36:5-7

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens. Your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God. Your judgments are like the great deep. Man and beast You save, O Lord. How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.

Confession of Sin

Lord, forgive us our sins against You and our neighbor. You are the Great Physician, giving new life to all who come; but we cling to our familiar sickness.  You are the Bridegroom, inviting us to feast on new wine; but we are slow to come to Your table. You said You came not to call the righteous, but sinners.  Forgive our pride and unbelief, for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy upon us; upon us.

Words of Encouragement :: I Corinthians 1:9,18

God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful…The message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Praying the Psalms ::  Psalm 80; v.3 refrain

Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might and come to save us!

Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us an object of contention for our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves.

Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches.
It sent out its branches to the sea and its shoots to the River.
Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.

Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted,
and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;
may they perish at the rebuke of your face!
But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
Then we shall not turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call upon your name!
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Sermon

¹² In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. ¹³ And he burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.  (Jeremiah 52:12-13)

³¹ And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. ³² And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ³³ So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table, ³⁴ and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, until the day of his death, as long as he lived. (Jeremiah 52:31-42)

¹² And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³ and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴ and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, ¹⁵ and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶ and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. (Matthew 1:12-16)

::  Download the 9.14.2014 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes

::  Download the 9.14.2014 Bulletin

::  Download the 9.14.2014 Sermon Audio

 

image :: 1550 Chairs, Doris Salcedo (Istanbul, 2003) 

Preparation for Worship :: Plentiful Redemption

“The bridge of grace will bear your weight, brother. Thousands of big sinners have gone across that bridge, yea, tens of thousands have gone over it. I can hear their trampings now as they traverse the great arches of the bridge of salvation. They come by the thousands, by their myriads, e’er since that day when Christ first entered His glory. They come and yet never a stone has sprung in that mighty bridge. Some have been the chief of sinners and some have come at the very last of their days but the arch has never yielded beneath their weight. I will go with them, trusting to the same support. It will bear me over as it has for them.” (Charles Spurgeon)

“For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sept 14 include:

::  King of Saints  Joseph Hart, 1712-68 (chart) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2189898526 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=3854459982]
::  From Depths of Woe (Psalm 130)  Martin Luther, 1524 (chart) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2800896556 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=762862813]
::  How Long, O Lord? (Psalm 13)  Isaac Watts, 1719 (lyrics) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3240358148 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=231763990]
::  Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)  John Newton, 1779; Chris Tomlin, 2006 (chart) [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2679071235 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=4184450343]

Call to Worship :: Psalm 116:5-9

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, He saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

Confession of Sin

Father, we come to You as sinners in need of forgiveness and cleansing that only comes through Your Son. How we marvel that He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquity. Lord, Your compassions yearn over us, Your heart hastens to our rescue, Your love endured our curse, Your mercy bore our sins. The healing for which our hearts long is found through His wounds alone. In Your grace, free us from the guilt and the power of sin. Transform us to live wholeheartedly for You, declared righteous by Your sacrifice, tender of conscience, triumphing gloriously as heirs of salvation. In Christ’s name we pray, AMEN.

Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy
Upon us; upon us.

Words of Encouragement :: Heidelberg Catechism 1 (1563)

What is your only comfort in life and in death?  That I am not my own, but belong — body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to Him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me whole-heartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him.

Ministry of Prayer :: Psalm 32; refrain 32:7

[refrain] You are a hiding place for me; You preserve me from trouble.

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit. [refrain]

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. [refrain]

Therefore let everyone who is godly
offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
they shall not reach him.
You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance. [refrain]

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
or it will not stay near you.

Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! [refrain]

Sermon :: Psalm 130. A Song of Ascents.

¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
²     O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

³ If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
⁶ my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.

⁷ O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
⁸ And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.

::  Download the 9.7.2014 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes

::  Download the 9.7.2014 Worship Bulletin

::  Download the 9.7.2014 Parent Bulletin

::  Download the 9.7.2014 Sermon Audio

image :: The Raising of Lazarus (after Rembrandt), Vincent van Gogh (1890, Dutch)

Preparation for Worship  ::  Delight in Your Sustaining God

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”  (Psalm 23:4)

“Someone has said that when there is a shadow there must be light somewhere, and so there is. Death stands by the side of the highway in which we have to travel, and the light of heaven shining upon him throws a shadow across our path; let us then rejoice that there is a light beyond.”   (Charles Spurgeon)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for September 7 include:

::  Praise to the Lord the Almighty [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3563716376 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=1956047333]
::  All Things New [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=2826557878 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=2373436171]
::  Give Me Jesus [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=549942375 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=893825801]
::  All Must Be Well [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=3307329660 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=3952867341]
::  Blessed Be Your Name [bandcamp width=100% height=42 album=802463890 size=small bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none track=1903757000]

Call to Worship  ::  Matthew 11:28-29

Jesus declared, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

New Testament Reading  ::  Romans 8:18-25

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Sermon  ::  Psalm 41

¹ Blessed is the one who considers the poor!
In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
² the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;
he is called blessed in the land;
you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
³ The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;
in his illness you restore him to full health.
⁴  As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you!”
⁵ My enemies say of me in malice,
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
⁶ And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words,
while his heart gathers iniquity;
when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
⁷ All who hate me whisper together about me;
they imagine the worst for me.
⁸ They say, “A deadly thing is poured out on him;
he will not rise again from where he lies.”
⁹  Even my close friend in whom I trusted,
who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
¹⁰ But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may repay them!
¹¹ By this I know that you delight in me:
my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
¹² But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
and set me in your presence forever.
¹³ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.

We Confess Our Sin Together  ::  based on Daniel 9:4-19

O Lord, great God, all holy, Father most gracious, filled with mercy and steadfast love, we are embarrassed to come before you, for we have preferred the ways of this world to your ways, for we have rebelled against your wisdom and we have gotten into trouble, for we have rejected your fatherly guidance and have gotten lost altogether. To you belongs righteousness, O Lord, and to us confusion of face. O Lord, great God, all holy, filled with awe, Father, most gracious, filled with mercy and steadfast love, incline your ear to our troubles. Hear us when we pour out our sorrows before you. Forgive us, not on the ground of our own righteousness, but on the ground of your great mercy. On the ground of your great mercy in the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ. It is in his name that we pray, for he is our Savior and the mediator of the covenant of grace. Amen.

Words of Encouragement  :: Ephesians 1:7

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

::  Download the 8.31.2014 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes

::  Download the 8.31.2014 Worship Bulletin

::  Download the 8.31.2014 Parent Bulletin

::  Download the 8.31.2014 Sermon Audio

Preparation for Worship  :: Lament and Complaint

“Lament is a cry of belief in a good God, a God who has His ear to our hearts . . . Complaint is the bitter howl of unbelief.”   (Ann Voskamp)

“Let the one who is thirsty come.”   (Revelation 22:17)

Call to Worship  ::  Isaiah 55:1-3, 6

Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to Me;
hear, that your soul may live.

Seek the Lord while He may be found;
call upon Him while He is near.

Ministry of Prayer  ::  Psalm 22:1-11, 14-15, 23-24, 27-28; Psalm 86:1 refrain

 

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.       [Refrain]

But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
“He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Be not far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.     [Refrain]

I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;      [Refrain]

You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him.      [Refrain]

All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.      [Refrain]

Sermon  ::  Psalm 42-43

We Confess Our Sin Together  ::  Adapted from The Valley of Vision, “The Deeps”

Lord Jesus, give me a deeper repentance,
a horror of sin, a dread of its approach;
Help me diligently to flee it, and jealously
to resolve that my heart shall be Yours alone.

Give me a deeper trust,
that I may lose myself to find myself in You,
The Ground of my rest, the Spring of my being.

Give me a deeper knowledge of Yourself
as Savior, Master, Lord, and King.

Give me deeper power in private prayer,
more sweetness in Your Word,
more steadfast grip on its truth.

Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought,
action, and let me not seek moral goodness apart from You.

I have no master but You, no law but Your will,
No delight but Yourself, no wealth but what You give,
No good but what You bless, no peace but what You bestow.

I am nothing but what You make me,
I have nothing but what I receive from You,
I can be nothing unless your grace covers me.

Work deep in my heart dear Lord,
and then fill me to overflowing with Living Water.

Words of Encouragement and New Testament Reading  ::  John 7:37-38

Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”